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:......:-./..: ~;.~,...'.,i..i;~~~:.~::<;.. .. .... .: ..:.. .." rW[,2 :;n ,." ','. ","' ,::':: BALANCE, DEVELOPMENT, HARMONY 17 '"..".',':,' I ~t~i,~J1~ ~>';:~"'~:I\. "':';~', .<:,:::- :'::..,i:.:~:':;.\i<;j ~\.:-::.";."'-~:<.,,:-.\. :. '.~'" "'.' apparent hannony all destroy each other's young. Also the prairie dog has a special enemy in the blackfooted ferret. In the old days the antelope ranged the basin. Their loca- tion was the sparsely grassed flats of alkaline grass. It is not a true antelope but is classified as a pronghorn deer. It does not have antlers like the deer but sheds the hollow part of its horns each season. The pronghorn differs also from the old world ante- lope and also from the deer family in that it does not jump over any obstacle higher than four feet. However it is very swift and usually outruns its enemies, the coyote and wolf. When flushed and excited it has a habit of circling and running through or near a scattered group of other grazing animals for protection, Possi- bly this is a fixed instinct. Permit the writer to recall an incident when his saddle horse was followed alongside by a wounded pronghorn buck who was insane with three smallrifle wounds in his body. The rider was uneasy as the antelope has ugly horns. However the horse sensed no danger as the pronghorn followed like a colt to where a group of men were fishing along a river. One, by luck, proved to be an official of the Izaak Walton League who legally assisted in' putting the poor buck out of his misery. The elk, wapiti, apparently ranged over a wide area in the prehistoric period. Its natural habitat is a sheltered rich valley although their food is lichens, moss, tender grasses and willow poplar. Spring finds them scattered and the male sheds his ant- lers and isolates himself so the fawns come in late spring when the grass is strong. Under natural conditions they evidently col- lected in large herds constantly in motion as they grazed. They slept in a circle with the bucks as protectors on the outside. Their enemies evidently were the wolves and large cats. The elk is unique among the deer family in that it can be domesticated. The small herds in parks are often bold in their invasion of near- by haystacks and meadows. At this date the area has one large herd in Montana still under natural conditions. There are many '.'~:. ..;.... ,- . '.' ". ." .'., ":'.0 "'. :;: ~.. >"">":' "-.. ,;, .~.. .....: :":. '... .,;-:: :,::~~:?-:.'\.:. ".-: '>~ ..:.~ .;':' .....~. :.~::- . :.:: :". ....